Gemma Collins has revealed her mum Joan has been admitted to hospital with pneumonia. The former Dancing on Ice star shared her devastating news on Instagram on Tuesday, admitting she is in fear for the 65-year-old's health as her illness puts her at high risk of contracting coronavirus. Uploading a photo to her Stories of her mum's hand covered in IV drips and medical tape, Gemma wrote: "Love you mum. Thank you to all the nurses who helped my mum she has pneumonia and on the mend NHS thank you thank you thank you so over stretched right now my mum has rheumatoid arthritis and is high risk to infection."
WATCH: What is a pandemic? All you need to know after coronavirus outbreak
Joan's arthritis means she is in and out of the hospital, and she also has to use a wheelchair to get around. Gemma previously opened up about her family's fears that their mum will die of the illness. "I always tried to be really strong, so when I was with her I was happy, upbeat, like ‘Come on mum, you’re gonna be alright!’" she told The Sun. "Then I’d leave the house, get in my car and cry for hours. I used to ring my friends and say ‘I just don’t know what I can do to help my mum,’ it was the worst thing."
She added: "Mentally I really noticed mum getting depressed and seeing her like that was just terrible. We saw lots of different doctors and not many people knew what was wrong with her. There were moments where me, my dad and my brother said, ‘Mum’s going to die.'"
MORE: 7 Charities you can support during coronavirus and how to help
© Photo: InstagramGemma Collins is concerned over her mum's health
MORE: Are you social distancing? 20 things you can do to keep yourself busy
Gemma also shared a photo on Instagram with the words, 'Sending love and healing to you always' before captioning it: "Sorry guys I can’t just act like nothing is going on .... on the gram sending love to anyone who is a little worried right now." She also urged her followers to listen to the government's advice about preventing the spread of coronavirus.
Gemma thanked the NHS for looking after her mum
She added: "Please listen to the government guidelines. If anyone is feeling a little anxious.... I know I am... it’s real but there is always someone who’s need is greater than ours please do listen to what we need to do in order to keep ourselves and everyone around us safe if you are well delegate one member of the family to shop for your family.... I did for mine last week and distribute it evenly massive love and respect to the nurses doctors who are working endlessly to help us all."
Like this story? Sign up to our newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.
